is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The city was founded on September 1, 1949. As of April 2017, the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 21,960 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 290 persons per km². The total area is 74.88 km². It is famous for its ''

katsuobushi is simmered, smoked and fermented skipjack tuna (''Katsuwonus pelamis'', sometimes referred to as bonito). It is also known as bonito flakes. ''Katsuobushi'' or similarly prepared fish is also known as . Shaved ''katsuobushi'' and dried ke ...

'' processing plants, which produce the chief flavoring ingredient—dried fish flakes—found in Japanese

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spread ...

soup. About 70 small family businesses year-round boil, cut, dry and smoke the pungent fish, often sending a unique odor of steam, smoke and fish scent across the downtown area and out to sea. Makurazaki is the site of the terminus of the southernmost JR train line in Japan, the

Ibusuki Makurazaki Line The is a railway line in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Kagoshima-Chūō Station in Kagoshima, to Makurazaki Station in Makurazaki, paralleling the eastern and southern coasts of ...

. The Japanese know the town as the Typhoon Ginza (after

Ginza Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

). Each summer many

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

s strike the main islands first in the area of Makurazaki.

Geography

Climate

Makurazaki has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year, and is especially high from May to July. The highest record temperature was on August 18, 2020 while the lowest recorded temperature was on February 19, 1977.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Makurazaki in 2020 is 20,033 people. Makurazaki has been conducting a census since 1920, and the city's population peaked in the 1950s at more than 35,000 people; the population has declined slowly since then. The population of Makurazaki in 2020 is only 70% of the 1955 census.

References

External links

Makurazaki City official website

Makurazaki Katsuobushi official website
* {{Authority control Cities in Kagoshima Prefecture